Thurs, 2 June 2006
On the top floor of S-Meg Tower, I’m still trying to work out how the travel companies can make a profit from these package deals. The money doesn’t seem to add up. The retail price for our tour, according to Fat Karen, was HK$500 per person, plus a HK$150 tip for the guide and driver. Assuming that these two Mainlanders live off these gratuities and commissions, the company gets HK$5,000 from a typical group of five couples on a three-day, two-night trip. From this, it has to pay for…
- 10 room-nights at a 4-star hotel, with 20 breakfasts
- 10 fancy hotel dinners
- 30 basic lunches
- Around 50 admissions to temples, etc
- Yo-Yo’s salary
- Fuel for minibus, around 1,000km
- Highway and bridge tolls (of which there are many)
Even allowing for bulk-buying, rebates and the fact that the Mainland is dirt cheap, they must be operating on razor-thin margins. From the customer’s point of view, it is undeniably a bargain. If you spent your entire life on these tours, it would cost less than HK$8,000 a month – cheaper than living in Hong Kong at a fixed abode. My retirement problems are solved.
